Parenting stress in mothers of children with congenital heart disease

Abstract

Purpose The main purposes of this study were to examine the relationships among uncertainty, social support and parenting stress in mothers of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and to identify the factors related to parenting stress.

Methods This was a survey study using a questionnaire. Fifty-one mothers of children with CHD were recruited at the pediatric cardiac outpatient clinic at one university-affiliated hospital in Seoul between July 14th and September 25th, 2006. Abidin's Parenting Stress Index–Short Form, Mishel's Parents' Perception Uncertainty in Illness Scale, and Brandt and Weinert's Personal Resource Questionnaire were used to collect data.

Results The results of bivariate analysis showed that parenting stress was significantly related to social support, ambiguity, lack of clarity, and lack of information, but was not related to unpredictability, one of the subconcepts of uncertainty. Multiple regression analysis showed that parenting stress was significantly related to social support and Internet information.

Conclusion Mothers who reported they had more social support and less uncertainty showed lower parenting stress. Also, the Internet could be an effective method to obtain information and to share child-rearing experiences with other mothers of children with CHD.